What Measure is a Navi
by DNAzne
Summary: Ijuin Enzan, after losing Blues to the Dark Chip, finds a Net Savior partner with unorthodox views on Navis who gives him an unthinkable chance at getting Blues back. As of ch. 5, an unexpected Navi interrupts, List offers a choice, and Enzan is confused.
1. Of Memories and Beginnings

A/N: This is a (hopefully) short story I've had in mind for a while. I've based it on the beginning of the Dark Blues story arc in Axess, and intend to try to introduce an original character into the existing plot to explore both Ijuin Enzan's and the OC's personalities and reactions to certain fundamental questions about humans and Net Navis.

I have written this OC several times before (in unpublished stories), but each time was more Mary Sue than the last. I hope this time will be different, and I welcome all constructive criticism about characterization and plotting. Please enjoy.

* * *

He missed Blues.

It wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. It was certainly not as bad as that first morning when he'd woken up to an empty PET beeping and, for the first time in his methodical life, couldn't force himself out of bed. After those initial few days, and after being beaten roundly about the head by an irate Hikari Netto, Ijuin Enzan had made a resolution to get on with life as cheerfully as possible and, failing that, to never let Netto suspect that he wasn't. He was doing fairly well on both counts.

Nevertheless, he still missed Blues. Although the initial guilt and self-loathing he felt at his actions had slowly faded, Enzan could not shake the growing sense of loss that replaced it. It refused to confront him openly, but nipped at him from his PET's empty screen, from the silences that went unbroken, and from the other thousand and one things he'd previously taken for granted. Blues hadn't been deleted, but he was most certainly gone, and Enzan had never before realized just how much he had come to rely on the Navi - or how much he _cared_ - before that nearly-failed mission and the Dark Chip. Now, too often, he found himself missing Blues' familiar input, and the realization that Blues was now something to be dreaded never became easier to accept, however many times he caught himself thinking…

Enzan slowly realized he was re-reading the document in his hand for the third time without taking in a word. He shook his head violently, dispersing the wandering thoughts crowding his mind; now, during official work, was not the time for pondering. Commissioner Kifune had been gracious enough to refuse to accept Enzan's resignation from the Net Saviors, and Enzan had felt that the least he could do, even if he could no longer fight, was to take on extra work in order to make sure he wasn't simply a burden in the fight against Nebula. So here he was.

He focused his attention on the papers with some effort. The first few pages were the familiar reports on Nebula activity, but following them came official statements from foreign Net Savior branches, sent in response to the Commissioner's request for assistance. Enzan scanned them quickly; they were similar, sympathetic to Japan's losing one of its two strongest fighting Navis, apologetic for not being able to send help, and heartfelt in their wishing the Japanese Net Saviors the best of luck – Enzan set them down, feeling not a little resentful. What was the point of empty goodwill? He knew he was being irrational; other nations were fighting against Nebula as well and needed all of their manpower, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to be quite so understanding.

Still, he could not be discourteous. Enzan sighed and began to draft the first of several well-worded, genial replies almost mechanically, letting his diplomatic training do the writing for him. It was easy work, if slightly mindless, and it was not until he had read through half of the fifth letter that he realized that something was different. Ameroupe's letter had not apologized at all for its sender's inability to send assistance to Japan. In fact…

"Commissioner!" Enzan called into the next office.

He had moved to get up from his desk, but this was made unnecessary when Commissioner Kifune appeared from the adjacent door a few moments later, positively beaming like a green-suited Santa. "You've discovered Ameroupe's reply, I see."

"I have." Enzan replied, somewhat surprised. If the Commissioner already knew, had he been trying to surprise Enzan with good news? He nonetheless pressed on. "The Ameroupe Net Saviors are recommending to us a…programming specialist?"

"A good one, from what my colleagues have told me." Kifune said, striding across the room to inspect the letter Enzan held. "Ah, yes - here. Interesting, really. You see, the Ameroupe government holds an annual national Netbattle and Programming talent search, and the winners get the opportunity to work with Ameroupe Net Saviors on various projects. One winner this year expressed an especially keen interest in Japan's research, especially Cross Fusion, and since Ameroupe didn't really need-"

"Please hold on a moment."

Kifune blinked. Enzan muttered a mental, and profuse, apology; he would normally never have interrupted the Commissioner, but he was starting to feel increasing dread with every word his superior spoke. The last time the Japanese Net Saviors had taken such a recommendation in, Dr. Regal was the result, and his eventual betrayal had been directly responsible for the failed mission that forced Enzan to take drastic measures. He had lost Blues then to the Dark Chip; the thought of taking that risk again was unspeakable.

"Sir, I don't believe this is a good idea." Enzan went on, resolutely, forcing the painful recollections back into the recesses of his mind. "I would have no such doubts about an Ameroupe Net Savior, but this specialist is essentially a civilian, possibly not even professionally recognized, and we have no assurance that he or she is not actually a Nebula agent in disguise. I ask you…please reconsider."

The Commissioner stared at him for a long moment, and Enzan silently braced himself for a scolding - for challenging a superior's authority, for doubting the Commissioner, or for simply being stubborn. He did not expect Kifune to start laughing.

"I knew you would pick up on the details, Enzan-kun."

The Commissioner produced a small file from his coat pocket, still chuckling, and handed it to Enzan. "Here. This is the full background check that both the Ameroupe government and Net Saviors conducted on their recommendation, both before and after the competition. I've found it thorough, but if you do not believe this specialist to be trustworthy or useful, I will notify Ameroupe immediately. You have my word."

Enzan took the file slowly. Kifune suddenly grew serious. "Enzan-kun, you will probably be the one working most closely with this specialist. Although I requested assistance in general, I did so with your talents in mind, so that whoever we received would be able to complement your abilities in fighting against Nebula and strengthening our technology. And although I can't officially say this, I know your highest priority is returning Blues to normal, and I hope you'll be able to accomplish this with the help of this Ameroupe specialist. Your decision is the one that matters here, so please read this file thoroughly. I trust your judgment."

"…Thank you, sir." Enzan replied quietly. "I will."

Commissioner Kifune clapped him on the back and left. Enzan gazed at the file for a moment longer, his hands almost shaking. That the Commissioner still had faith in him, even after what had happened, meant more to him than his superior would probably ever know. He would be cautious to the utmost degree, but if possible, he would not lose this opportunity to be useful again, to assist in fighting, maybe even to take the first step towards getting Blues back. At that thought, Enzan almost berated himself for being too optimistic, but thought better of it; now, after needing hope for so long and finally receiving it, was not the time.

He opened the file.


	2. Introduction with a Side of Doubts

A/N: silly-as-all-hell computer themed names go!

That aside, I'm not great at characterization. I'll try to make List's character clear through the story, but this first chapter introducing her is not going to say much about what kind of person she is. I think. It's possible to read more into things, though.

Also, I might not be writing Enzan's perspective exactly the way the series does it; I haven't rewatched the Axess series in a while, and am going off my previous character interpretations. I hope nothing is too OOC, but I also hope that if you catch anything dramatically OOC, you'll tell me about it. Please enjoy.

* * *

A week later, standing awkwardly in the middle of a crowded airport terminal, Enzan found himself having serious second thoughts.

He'd approved the Ameroupean specialist, after a careful inspection of her credentials and a detailed background check. Nothing suggested criminal connections, and she was indubitably skilled. So Enzan'd gone to the Commissioner with the go-ahead, and Kifune had contacted Ameroupe, and a week later, List Shiba-Bertrand had boarded a flight for Japan. But now, five minutes before her arrival, the one factor about her Enzan had ignored while making his decision was asserting itself loudly in his troubled mind.

List was twelve, and barely older than him. Enzan had never considered his age as a barrier to anything, having become vice president of IPC at ten, and then there was Hikari Netto...so he had neglected the age consideration when deciding. But afterwards, he found himself troubled; his own situation was rare, and Netto was too much of a special case to be a good example. List was only a civilian with working parents, no government affiliation, and no experience with the military; in all rights, a normal-if-intelligent child. So Enzan had begun to wonder, with increasing dread, whether she could possibly be fit for a Net Savior position – whether he even had the right to put her at the heart of the fighting. Why had he decided so quickly?

_You needed Blues back._ His own voice sounded coldly in his mind. _You were so desperate to just do something, anything, that you ignored what any normal person would have considered, and dragged yet another child into fighting against a terrorist syndicate. How could you?_

Enzan shook his head violently, and the airport came back into focus. It was not a new accusation. He had thought so many times in the last week, and had beaten it back each time. He had no choice but to do so, since going back on his decision would have meant telling the Ameroupe government that no, sorry for the trouble, but there's been a mistake...the thought was terrifying. The only thing he could do, Enzan thought grimly, was protect her if the worst came to pass. That was enough for him.

He looked up to read the overhead announcements, and in that moment someone stopped in front of him and asked, "Are you Ijuin Enzan?"

"I-" Enzan stopped, mentally warning himself to be more cautious, and focused his gaze back down. The girl standing in front of him was the splitting image of List's photograph, down to the fussed dark-gray hair and quizzical expression. A yellow ribbon dangled above one ear, and Enzan recalled it in a similar position in the photo.

He relaxed. "I am. You are Ms. Shiba-Bertrand?"

"List, please." The girl bowed, surprising Enzan slightly, although he hid it. "It's very nice to meet you...Mr. Ijuin?"

"Enzan is fine."

They exchanged the appropriate pleasantries and walked towards the exit, List insisting on carrying her own luggage. Enzan explained the Japanese Net Saviors' work as they walked, and paid close attention to List's responses as he did so, trying to gauge whether his previous fears had any basis.

"...so, you'll know that Dr. Hikari Tadashi was essentially the creator of the internet in its current form, and Dr. Hikari Yuuichiro, his son, was the inventor of PET technology. Dr. Hikari is currently with us at SciLabs - "

" - researching Cross Fusion and new ways of letting humans work with the internet." List finished, then shook her head. "Oh, sorry for interrupting! But I'm a big fan of Dr. Hikari's work and...so, I was wondering – why did Dr. Hikari begin studying Cross Fusion? I know it was useful in fighting instantiated Nebula programs, but the first confirmed attack..."

Enzan explained as best he could, List listening attentively and occasionally commenting. As they exited the airport and continued talking, and List began to relate stories of Ameroupe's battle against Nebula, Enzan found himself beginning to relax. Perhaps it was too early to tell just yet, but...List was certainly not as naïve about Official work as he had feared, and she was fairly well-informed in general. At least it was a change from Netto, whose only interests were Netbattling and food, Enzan thought with some amusement. _And if Netto could do this...well, we'll see._

In the chauffeured Official car, halfway through an explanation of Cross Fusion, Enzan recalled something. "I'm sorry, your Navi – may I see him or her? Your Navi'll need security clearance to be allowed into the SciLabs network, and I would like to check a few other things as well."

"My Navi? Oh, you're looking for my current project." List pulled her knapsack out from under her seat and begun to rummage around. "Sorry, I have a lot of disks, but the Navi template one should be somewhere around...ah, here it is."

She handed Enzan something that looked all the world like a black battle chip. Enzan took it, in some confusion. "This is...where you store your Navi?"

"Mm-hm. Just slot it into your PET like a normal chip, and the Navi program'll automatically open. You should be able to do whatever you need with it from there."

_Don't you have a PET? _Enzan, mildly bemused, wanted to ask. _And if you don't use a PET, how do you talk with your Navi...? _

But he held his tongue. Perhaps this was the way Ameroupean programmers did things, and if so, he'd learn about it sooner or later. Setting his doubts aside, Enzan pulled his own red PET from his pocket and, ignoring the twinge of pain at seeing its blank screen, slotted the chip in. A few seconds and a download bar later, a gray Navi appeared on the screen. It had a simple buster, a gray circle for an icon, and was so entirely nondescript that Enzan wondered, out loud, whether List had gotten the wrong chip.

"Not at all." List grinned. "I guess Luc is a bit plain, but it does the job. I'll definitely show it to you later."

The unconventional presentation of the Navi, Luc, aside, Enzan had no further surprises as he cleared it – _no, him_, Enzan thought, _why am I calling a Navi an it _ – for SciLab entry. They took the chauffeured car back towards Official HQ, List now talking animatedly. Enzan was content to listen for the rest of the way back, and as they exited the car towards a welcoming party of Commissioner Kifune and Ms. Manabe, thought, _well, things are starting to get interesting_.

The next day, Nebula attacked.


	3. First Test of the Luc Brigade

The first hint -or, rather, loud proclamation – Enzan had of the attack wasn't from the SciLabs emergency system. It was from List, bursting excitedly into his office. "Nebula Navis approaching the mainframe! Come on!"

"Wha-" Enzan stood up in shock, looked down at his unchanged desktop screen, then at the emergency network sensors, which were contentedly glowing an all-clear green. Absolutely nothing else indicated that SciLabs might be under siege again. But List hadn't seemed the type to joke, and she was staring entirely seriously, and expectantly, at him.

He looked back at her in some confusion. "Are you sure...?"

Then the sensors went off. Enzan jumped, and in a split second remembered that yesterday, List and a few other lab technicians had gone around inspecting and modifying the network security protocol, although they hadn't made the necessary changes to his own office yet. Apparently the new system was effective. With some increased respect for List, he hurried from behind his desk. "We'll go to the main command room. Commissioner Kifune-"

"Someone else warned him first." List seemed to be trying to run and search her knapsack at the same time. "So – where is that chip – there's apparently two Navis, one with a much higher attack power than the other, I'm not sure – oh,_ here_ it is - how much the security waves'll slow them down but I made some modifications earlier -"

"Talk slower, " Enzan gasped, a feeling of apprehension sinking into the pit of his stomach, as they rounded a corner and entered the command room. "it's all right, we usually have a few minutes between the detection and actual attack, so what...ah, Commissioner!"

Kifune waved them over, beaming. "Enzan-kun! List, good work! Our response times are a lot better now, thanks to your new security upgrades. We've already made the necessary preparations and won't be caught unarmed again."

"That's good news." Enzan said quietly, although Kifune, distracted, had already turned away to direct a group of scientists to their defense stations. The dread was back. This happened every Nebula attack. He was still afraid of what he would see when the attackers finally came into view, and List's previous comment hadn't helped. _Two Navis...one more powerful?_

_Blues...?_

He caught himself, gritted his teeth, and found List staring at him with some concern. "Are you all right?"

Enzan mentally berated himself for being so obvious and fixed a practiced blank expression on his face. He couldn't be weak here, List needed him – _or perhaps you need her,_ his treacherous mind told him – and he said, "It's nothing. You said you modified the defenses as well?"

"Yeah!" And List, enthusiastic again, pulled him over to the defense screens. On one screen with a top-down view of the network, a few circles of colored dots enclosed what Enzan recognized as SciLabs' core data center. He was familiar with the outermost green and blue layers – redesigned defense viruses and guard Navis – but there was a new red inner circle of six dots. He opened his mouth to ask, then stopped.

There were also two purple dots rapidly approaching the outer defense perimeter.

"Display on!" Kifune shouted to the technician at the main desk. The large overhead screen flickered, then shone, and two Nebula Navis came into view. Neither of them was Blues.

Enzan visibly relaxed. He noticed List looking oddly at him again, but she said nothing, and he shook the thought away and focused on the Nebula Navis. He didn't recognize either of them, although one bristled with razor-sharp blades everywhere, and the other looked like...

"...a giant turtle." List said.

"...yeah. So, which one did you say was the stronger one...?"

"The turtle."

"What?"

The first wave of cannons had fired, but the razor Navi had escaped the bombardment entirely, and the turtle had retreated into its shell – _in retrospect, we really should have expected that,_ Enzan thought – and taken negligible damage. The razor Navi grinned onscreen, a mouthful of glittering knives, and dispatched the cannons with one slash.

"Humans! Is this the most your weak scientists can do?"

_Why are we still using cannons if they invariably get wiped out in every attack? _Enzan asked himself. Next to him, List hissed. "The little...it did _not_ just say that."

"Next wave! Guard Navis, attack!" Kifune ordered.

A squad of blue-suited SciLab Navis rushed the two Nebula Navis, swords and busters out. The turtle bent forward, almost bowing, and Enzan realized suddenly that its back was opening, a huge cannon was emerging, almost fully charged-

"No!" He roared, and half of the room turned in surprise. "That thing's aimed directly at the core system! If it goes through the Guard -"

The turtle fired. A massive burst of energy cut straight through the milling SciLab Navis and flew towards the core. _It's shielded, _Enzan thought wildly, _but not against that sort of blast! How..._but even in his panic, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, List typing something rapidly.

And then the inevitable explosion came. Several data screens spluttered and failed from the energy release, and the main screen filled with smoke. The ensuing silence was punctured only by the screeching laughter of the razor Navi. "Oh, that was priceless! Do it again! Again! Blow their stupid research apart and teach them not to mess with-"

"Who the hell are you calling _stupid_?"

List stood behind the command desk, a PET in her hand, looking furious. Enzan had never before seen such an expression on a twelve-year-old's face. "Arrogant, idiotic excuse for an AI! You think a poor attack like that could ever beat human ingenuity? Take a look!"

"What did you just sa-" The razor Navi started, then stopped. The smoke created by the first explosion was clearing, and the one thing visible to everyone in the room and network was the untouched, still-shielded, exterior of the core program.

Then it came into view – a red, glowing shield, pulsing with energy, supported by five or six Navis behind it. Enzan looked down at his data screen, and saw them – the cluster of red dots, directly in front of the core. The crater in front of them told him all he needed to know. "List!"

List grinned.

But the razor Navi was smiling too, razor teeth glinting. "Oh, very nice. Did you want a medal? How about I go behind that shield and _carve them apart_!"

It rushed towards the shield. The shield broke, and six red Navis, each identical to Luc, scattered as the razor Navi landed, slashing wildly. They regrouped a little beyond their former position and stared without emotion at the razor Navi as it advanced, cackling.

"Fighter form, go." List said conversationally, and slotted in a black chip.

The razor Navi rushed forward again.

There was a red flash.

It slowed, then stopped, looking down in puzzlement at where its arm used to be. A red Navi, its arm transformed into a curved blade, stood behind it. Five others walked forward towards them. Each, where its buster arm had been, carried the same blade.

"You _bastards!_" The razor Navi howled. "How did you-"

Six red blades descended upon it in a flurry of cuts. A burst of data later, nothing remained of the razor Navi.

"Did you want to try too?" List asked the turtle Navi in the ensuing silence.

The turtle Navi wordlessly plugged out. The silence lasted for another moment, and then, as victory slowly sunk in, an excited hubbub broke out over the room. A few scientists and Officials, Kifune and Manabe among them, surrounded List, congratulating and questioning her, while others scrambled about, repairing the shorted-out data screens and recalling injured Navis.

Enzan alone stood by his data screen, not moving. He knew List hadn't noticed, but he was unsure as to why it was he couldn't simply go up and offer his congratulations as well. It had been an impressive battle manuever, to be sure; he'd certainly never thought of directing a group of Navis who could change their fighting style at the drop of a hat. It was so simple, so clean, so...

_Impersonal_.

He'd always had Blues. Blues had been with him, and fought with him, for as long as he could remember. They had learned each other's skills and weaknesses and complemented each other, and somewhere in it all, Enzan had realized that he could never work as easily or as well with another Navi – another partner. But that Navi-human closeness, that partnership – he felt none of that from List. And its sheer absence couldn't have been any clearer here, in the blank eyes of the six now-motionless Navis.

_Who is Luc?_ Enzan asked silently, looking back up at List. _Was Luc the basic design for those Navis, or...was he somehow all of those Navis? And what sort of programmer – no, Operator, are you, List?_

"Enzan-kun." A familiar voice came from behind him. Enzan turned.

"Dr. Hikari!"

Dr. Hikari Yuuichiro grinned at him, and Enzan suddenly felt better without really knowing why. "I've just gotten back, and I'm glad to see the lab's still standing. I caught the last part of the action, too – Enzan-kun, what do you think about that battle?"

"About..." Enzan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He wondered, for a second, whether his misgivings might have been mistaken. Worse, had they only been out of some perverse sense of jealousy that List had done so well? But this was Dr. Hikari, the creator of PETs and Cross Fusion, the one man who understood the Operator-Navi partnership better than anyone besides Netto and Rockman...and he resolved to go for it. When he finished, Dr. Hikari sighed.

"I'm glad you, too, understand what I saw. Thank you."

They looked up at List, who had recognized Dr. Hikari through the crowd and was now waving madly at Enzan. Dr. Hikari clapped Enzan on the shoulder. "Would you introduce me, Enzan-kun? I'd like to learn more about her peculiar style of Operating. I have a feeling my research is about to turn...interesting."

They walked together towards the crowd.


	4. Gaming the System

A/N: This is a slow chapter, but it'll be introducing some topics and issues that come into play later more dramatically. Not only the more obvious issues, either.

* * *

Two weeks later, on a Tuesday afternoon, List came to Enzan with a request.

"Help me train my Navi."

After the Nebula attack, Enzan – and List, and SciLabs – had settled into a more or less regular pattern. List had been ecstatic about meeting _the _Hikari Yuuichiro, and was now testing new Navi customization methods with him on a daily had gone back to his administrative work, dropping by once in a while to talk with List. There had also been no further Nebula activity or aggression since. Enzan wasn't sure whether to be relieved or suspicious, but was nevertheless communicating closely with Netto and other Net Saviors in the field, keeping a lookout for any sign of danger.

Netto, in particular, had been disappointed that he wasn't called for the last attack. "Geez, you guys have a new defender? Now I don't have an excuse to buy new chips for Rockman any more!"

"Wha-? That's not the point-" Enzan had spluttered, and Netto, laughing, had finally promised he was joking and hung up. That boy worried him sometimes, Enzan thought resignedly. But Netto _was_ undeniably his friend, and whatever else could be said about him, he always meant well and eventually came through in the end. The Net Saviors really couldn't have done without his and Rockman's inexplicable skill.

List, on the other hand. They were friends of a sort now. Enzan rather liked having someone his own age who wasn't Netto to talk to, and they'd had quite a few conversations about Official work and research. Yet, Enzan could not shake the feeling that they weren't on the same plane of thought at times. There seemed to be something vague and undefinable about List, something _off_, even aside from her odd Operating.

Come to think about it, he hadn't seen her Navi in a while...

"...Enzan! You're spacing out again."

"Sorry, sorry." Enzan held up a hand and sighed. "I thought you had been working with Dr. Hikari on Navi customization – what's with the change of subject?"

List shook her head. "We finished the last first-round customizer programs yesterday – you know, the ones based on form-change chips? Before we move onto the second round, though, I thought I should figure out whether the tactics I've been relying on need to be retested and improved, and since Dr. Hikari told me you're a skilled Netbattler -"

Enzan blinked at her. It was List's turn to sigh. "I never told you specifically how my chips work, huh?"

They ended up in the holographic Netbattle practice room a half hour later. Enzan had borrowed a generic training Navi from one of the Officials, trying not to remind himself of his own, empty, PET. Still, despite the discomforting memories, he couldn't help but be interested in what exactly List was doing. List, on her side of the Netbattle table, had set up something that looked like a video camera with attached keyboard, and a large amount of the black chips that Enzan had grown familiar with.

"All right. So!"

List slotted in a chip into her PET and plugged it into the table. A red Navi – _Luc? _O_r one of those other_ _six?_ Enzan thought – appeared in a moment. Save for its changed suit color, it was as unremarkable as Enzan had previously seen it.

"This is normal form." List said. "Buster, basic offense and defense tactics, prefers ranged attacks to melee combat. Try attacking it."

Somewhat skeptically, Enzan plugged his own training Navi in and selected a few basic chips at random. "Sword!"

The training Navi formed a sword and lunged at List's Navi, who strafed and leaped out of the way before firing a few buster shots in return. Enzan looked up and saw that List wasn't even holding her PET, made a mental note to ask later, and selected another chip. "Vulcan!"

A barrage of shots flew towards List's Navi, who dashed sideways, but wasn't quite fast enough. Several shots sent it flying towards the back of the stage. List looked up from her typing and nodded. "Right. The normal form is useless in advanced Netbattling. Now, this is where forms come in."

She pulled a black chip from the ones on the table and slotted it in. "Defense form. You saw this earlier; it's slower than normal form, but has shielding tactics and a cannon for long-range attack. Shoot it again!"

Enzan's Navi sent another barrage of shots, and this time List's Navi didn't move at all as the shots struck. Then, through the smoke, a single cannon blast shot through and would have blown off the training Navi's arm had Enzan not hurriedly sent in a Barrier chip. The glowing red shield sported by List's Navi was now visible through the smoke.

"Interesting." Enzan commented, and slotted in a Long Sword. List looked up, grinned, and pulled out another chip. "Fighter form now. Go!"

Enzan's Navi lunged, sword at the ready, and was met in midair by List's Navi, who no longer sported a shield or cannon but the curved sword Enzan had seen before. A flurry of exchanged strikes later, both Navis landed. The training Navi was breathing heavily with exertion, while List's Navi remained unchanged and emotionless.

It was almost a little creepy, Enzan thought, but was interrupted in that thought by List. "There. That's fighter form, sacrifices defensive capability for pure speed of attack. It's close-ranged of course, so I'll need to add a long-range attack to make it more effective, but you can see-"

"All right, hang on." Enzan was beginning to realize where exactly he had seen and heard this before. "List...did you play video games?"

List grinned. "Exactly! These forms are basically role-playing classes, each with associated strategies for offense and defense, and equipment to boot. But the difference from a game is - I've built up each of them over a period of Netbattling, learning from other Operators' fighting strategies, and developing tactics to win in each possible situation. This is what all this is for," and she indicated the recorder equipment with a wave, "so I can record your battling strategy and upgrade, or recreate, my chips to respond accordingly. Any questions?"

"That's..."

On one hand, Enzan could see that List's program had potential. He had admired Rockman's ability to perform Soul Unison; what List was suggesting almost seemed as if it could be used as a way of giving similar abilities and strategies to all manner of Navis. But on the other hand, he couldn't help but wonder if it was all actually necessary. This was a strategy which gave most of the power of control to the Operator; what did impressing chip-based tactics do for Navis who had their own ideas about fighting?

"...interesting." He shook his head. He needed more information, and that particular thought wasn't relevant at the current point. List was looking at him curiously. "No questions. Let's start, then."

"Good!"

It was only after several hours of intermittent battling and List furiously typing, and after she had left for the day, that Enzan came to a decision.

There were certainly questions he had to ask. He had carefully observed List's Navi through each battle, and noticed no visible change in its demeanor when switching from one combat strategy to another, nor any resistance from it to suddenly changing tactics. Furthermore, he suddenly realized, he had never heard it speak, or make a single sound - even when injured by an attack.

"Willpower...?" Enzan speculated to himself, but he knew that was impossible. The only thing that he could be sure of, now, was that Luc did not act like a normal Navi. His Netbattle-caused euphoria now gone, Enzan found himself more puzzled and disturbed than excited. Luc was an enigma, and the battles had only given rise to more questions than answers.


	5. The Heart, Illogical

A/N: This may not need a warning, however; this author does not necessarily hold the opinions of any of the characters. All philosophical arguments should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are being made by 12-year-olds who don't really talk like 12-year-olds, and whose motivations and emotional states are currently highly questionable.

This chapter is long. I hope it's still fun to read.

* * *

It was now their fifth training session, and the first time that one of List's testing Navis had utterly failed to cooperate.

Enzan would have commented on how _spectacularly_ it had failed, if List's increasingly grim scowl across the battling table hadn't warned him against unwise remarks. Regardless of strategy, the Navi had managed to dodge into projectile shots, use shields against piercing attacks, throw bombs at short range against a sword-wielding opponent, and break its own sword by bashing it against a Dream Aura. When Enzan finally called a halt to the training before it could do something else absurdly stupid, List had begun typing furiously – and silently - at her terminal, leaving Enzan to occupy himself with inspecting the offending Navi.

Which, as he had expected, was rather boring. This Navi was identical to the others that List had used in their sessions, save for an odd intensity about its blank stare which had disappeared by the time Enzan looked again. He finally dismissed it as a trick of the eye. It wasn't exactly a question he could ask List, given his failure at getting any other information from her.

To his credit, Enzan had _meant_ to ask List about her Navi's strange behavior since the first training session. The topic had just never come up. It was something about List's expression whenever he had wanted to ask that made the question feel superfluous, as if the answer would be blatantly obvious, and years of association with his father had given Enzan a mild distaste for asking obvious questions. So he'd ended up holding his tongue, and by the fifth training session, had gotten used to List's Navis. Enough, at least, to ignore the contrast between them and all other Navis he'd ever come across.

Maybe the contrast would have been larger if he'd still had Blues, but that wasn't something Enzan let himself think about much those days; whatever had stopped him from asking about List's Navi had also prevented him from telling her about Blues.

It was stupid and illogical. He knew that. The Commissioner and many of the Net Saviors were under the impression that List was working on helping him get Blues back, after all - but Enzan couldn't help but feel a strong sense of foreboding whenever the topic nearly came up. He didn't know why. List was perfectly friendly and he had no reason to expect her to refuse, or be...unsympathetic? Was he really afraid of that?

Actually...

"Right." List said. "Got it."

"What?"

List gestured at the Navi, which looked back blankly. "Its core programs malfunctioned. The modifications I made to its sentience core were supposed to override any personality storage functions, but for some reason, they're either wearing off or mutating -"

"In layman's terms." Enzan reminded her. "I'm a Net Battler, not a programmer."

"Right. Um. Basically, something's corrupting the code I wrote in this Navi's processor – or I guess 'brain' – and is making it do things it shouldn't do..."

Enzan mentally shook away an ironic sense of familiarity as List continued, oblivious.

"...and I can fix it, probably," List had gone back to staring quizzically at her screen, and had typed a few words before apparently remembering Enzan, "but, I mean, it's easier to just delete it and make a new one. Give me a few minutes -"

"...hang on." Enzan said, quietly. "Delete it?"

"Yeah." List didn't even look up. "It's not like it's useful any more, right?"

Don't ask stupid questions, the voice in Enzan's mind reminded him, even as he realized exactly why he hadn't told List about Blues. This isn't your problem. You're an Official Net Battler and Net Savior and you know better than to get sentimental -

Enzan ignored it.

"It's still a Navi, though." His voice was calmer than he expected. "I know you use generic Navis, but just deleting on -"

"I don't use generic Navis!" List protested, somewhat distractedly.

"...is...a...what?"

There was a pause before List seemed to remember the conversational topic and waved him over to her side of the table. Enzan couldn't help but wonder if she'd completely missed the point on purpose, but went anyway.

"Okay...So this is Luc, right?" List pointed to her terminal screen, on which the familiar red Navi was displayed. "It's actually a custom Navi template I use to make all of mine. Custom Navis have more powerful core programs than generic Navis, which means they learn and remember – and fight – way better. But -"

"...but your Navi doesn't act like a custom one." Enzan prompted.

"Well, of course not." List sighed. "Custom Navis also have a whole bunch of other useless details like, say, personality, morals, or 'choice', clogging up their processing. I guess it makes them more appealing to people who like to think their programs are human - "

_Oh_, Enzan thought. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"- but it's a waste of processing power, so I've disabled all of that. It leaves more memory for battling, and they don't try to think for themselves and screw up my tactics. I can also replace them whenever I need to, if they get deleted or, " she waved a hand dismissively at the Navi on the table, which had begun pacing about, "start malfunctioning. That's why it's not really worth trying to fix this one."

Enzan gave himself a few seconds to arrange his thoughts into some degree of calmness, and said, with all the tact he could manage, "I can't...agree with that."

"Hmm?" List looked up at him.

"Navis are...not generally replaceable." Enzan said, keeping his voice low with an effort, "The strength of a custom Navi – and a Net Battler – comes from their training, their shared experiences, their...partnership. Getting to know your Navi and learning about yourself in the process – that is how great Net Battlers work, and reducing a Navi down to the bare essentials misses the point entirely. I -"

List was looking at him with something akin to pity. Enzan stopped. "What?"

"I thought you were...different from that." List shook her head. "Seriously, Enzan? So many people think their Navis are 'special' just for having a programmed personality, and get so invested in them – I thought you'd be a welcome change from that sort of thing, being a Net Savior and all."

"Being a Net Savior," Enzan snapped, "doesn't preclude me from caring -"

"But why?" List interrupted, sounding genuinely surprised, "Navis are just programs that act kind of like humans, but you can reprogram them, change their personalities, replace them if they're deleted, do whatever you want – so why do people get so attached? It's kind of delusional, honestly -"

"That's not -"

A blaring klaxon drowned out Enzan's next few words. Both of them jumped; Enzan reflexively grabbed his PET before realizing that it was still useless, swore – and then saw the stricken expression on List's face.

"Core breach alarm." List, staring at her terminal, was almost inaudible over the sound. "But the outer security walls, guard Navis, I should have gotten warnings...what happened to them?"

"Come _on!_"

Pulling List to her feet, Enzan ran for the door as the room's lights flickered and cracked with electricity. A heated battle seemed to be going on in the lab network, but he couldn't see a thing in the display-less training rooms - "Get to the main command room, quickly! Do you still have other guard Navis?"

"Of course!" List shook free of him, and then stopped suddenly. "Wait, my equipment and data -"

"Leave the stupid data!" Enzan roared, grabbed her arm again, and ran.

Behind them, still standing on the Netbattle table, List's temporarily spared Navi gazed after its fleeing Operator and the white-haired boy. It then looked down at its hands and, as if coming to a decision, vanished.

* * *

He had forgotten to ask List whether her security systems could identify the intruder.

And maybe it was a good thing he hadn't, Enzan thought, staring up at the large command screen and the smoke and ruin-filled network it opened into. His forgetfulness had probably saved him a minute and a half of premature panicking.

Of course, he could properly panic _now._

"Hello again, Enzan-_sama._"

"Hello, Blues." Enzan said, quietly. The room was silent and empty except for him, List, and the screen, from which the too-familiar invader stared back.

"_Dark_ Blues." His former Navi said, equally quietly, and the Dark Aura swirled about him like a living flame. Once again, Enzan involuntarily recalled the lost battle aboard Regal's cruiser, the Dark Chip – and the last time he had seen Blues smile, a smile utterly unlike the toothy one now spread across the Navi's face. His throat tightened, but he hid all expression.

"The last idiots that attacked this place told me that the humans had some new...toys." Dark Blues continued, still smiling. "Since Lord Regal has kept me busy recently, I thought that I should come play."

He paused. "And, of course, finish the job they so utterly _failed._"

Enzan said nothing. List, at a command terminal behind him, snapped something unintelligible and unmistakably rude.

"But you've gotten a _friend_ since I left!" Dark Blues mused, feigning surprise. "Maybe I should teach her some manners?"

He raised his sword arm - and dodged more swiftly than Enzan thought possible as one of List's Navis lunged and missed, its blade cutting deeply into the network floor. Others were running onscreen as well; List's reserve, Enzan realized, but there were far too few of them -

With an almost languorous motion, Dark Blues decapitated the first Navi.

"Bastard." List muttered, and yelled a command. Her red Navis surrounded Dark Blues, hacking and slashing at any opening, but Dark Blues, a whirlwind of blades, left none. The Dark Sword hissed and snapped like a living thing, biting into Navi after Navi -

Enzan turned away, wanting to vomit. "How many Navis do you have left...?"

"I can always make more!" List snapped, glaring at him even as she typed commands into the keyboard. "Enzan, you – you know this ..._thing, _don't you? The Commissioner, even Dr. Hikari, barely told me anything, but if I had known to prepare – if it knows you, and it knows how to infiltrate the network, and it's this powerful - _why didn't you tell me anything about it?_"

"I -"

Enzan opened his mouth to retort and found nothing to say. Of _course_ Blues, an Official Navi, would have known the Labs' security systems' weaknesses - and he had somehow been so preoccupied with his own issues and List's oddness that he'd forgotten that List-who-was-modifying-their-network-defenses might have needed to know about Blues for another reason entirely.

"You never...no one else ever mentioned...?" Enzan asked. It was as weak a last-ditch effort as he felt. "How -"

"_They assumed you'd tell me_!" List snapped back. "Apparently this was something _private_ that was important specifically to you, so I was_ waiting_ – but you – _Retreat!_"

Enzan swung to look at the screen. List's red Navis had fallen back to a safe distance; only two remained standing, several others had lost limbs, and the rest had been reduced to pieces of scrap data floating about the battlefield. But Dark Blues had also been injured; several slashes had rended his chest armor, and he was no longer smiling.

"Ranged mode." List ordered, pointedly ignoring Enzan. "Aim for the head -"

"...Useless." Dark Blues spat. "All of your petty human _toys_, all of you - _die_!"

The Dark Aura flared and exploded outwards. Before List's Navis could act, a torrent of dark energy engulfed them as Dark Blues laughed maniacally, and Enzan covered his ears - no other reinforcements of red Navis were appearing – and he realized why at the same time that List whispered, horrified, "Dammit, my Navi creator template, I left it in the _training room_..."

And then a blue flash slammed into Dark Blues, and Netto burst into the room.

* * *

"Geez, Enzan." Netto said, plopping down on the bench next to him. "That was too close."

"You're just late." Enzan retorted.

Dark Blues had fled, unwilling to take on both Rockman and further red Navis. List had disappeared somewhere immediately afterward – although Enzan had a fair idea of where she had gone – leaving only Netto to be congratulated by the Commissioner and scientists, and Enzan to make his own disappearance. Crowds of people had seemed particularly unpleasant at that moment.

It wasn't too successful, he thought. Netto had still managed to find him, and Netto talked enough for a crowd. But Enzan didn't really mind.

"...Hey. Enzan. Are you all right?"

"Of course." He lied, and knew that Netto knew he was lying.

"You're lying."

"Of cours – I mean, no I'm not -"

"It's okay." Netto said quietly.

They sat in silence for what seemed a few minutes; Netto staring at the sky, and Enzan staring anywhere but at other people. This was uncharacteristically quiet for Netto, he thought vaguely, but didn't bother to voice it. It was probably Netto's way of being tactful, even though the boy wouldn't have known tact if it challenged him to a Netbattle.

Enzan appreciated it all the same.

"There's no permanent damage done, Dad says," Netto said finally, "and they're patching up the security holes so Blues doesn't exploit them again. The Commissioner says not to blame yourself, too."

"...thanks, Netto." He meant it.

And he knew he had to talk to List.

* * *

He found the testing room more or less cleaned up when he returned, and List standing at a terminal, staring at the screen with some apparent puzzlement. She didn't even look up as he hesitantly approached.

"The Navi I was using." List said suddenly, as Enzan opened his mouth to say...something. He wasn't sure what. "I can't find it anywhere. Do you remember me deleting it?"

"...no." Enzan admitted.

"Weird. Maybe I auto-timed the deletion and then forgot about it, but why would I do..."

And List ignored him again in favor of the terminal. Casting about for what he was going to say, Enzan noticed that his training PET was still plugged in, and for the sake of just _doing_ something and to buy himself some time to think, went to retrieve it.

"...Enzan."

He picked up the PET, ignoring a strange buzz it made as he unplugged it, and met List's eyes from across the table. "I'm...sorry. It's my fault for not realizing sooner, and if you're in trouble because of me -"

"It's not even that." List sighed, looking no longer angry but tired. "Enzan...do a backup."

"What?"

"Your Navi." List pointed at his belt, where Blues's still-empty red PET sat. "I know that Dark Navi used to be yours. Someone told me after Hikari Netto came in, but it's obvious – you're a Net Battler but you don't use your own Navi, you keep twitching whenever someone mentions a Dark Chip, and your PET even has the same emblem as it -"

"Blues is not an 'it'." Enzan said quietly.

"- and you're unduly attached to it." List continued, ignoring his interruption. "And it was a security issue, and you didn't even tell me because..."

"Because of Luc." To hell with it, Enzan thought. He might as well as fully incriminate himself now. "You would not have understood why someone could care about a Navi. Blues was – is my _friend_, not just a program-"

"Right! And that's the problem! You're so obsessed with this Navi – not even that, feeling _personally connected_ to this Navi – that you're making yourself miserable, you're forgetting important things about your own work – dammit, you're putting other people at risk like this!"

Enzan flinched.

List shook her head. "I don't understand. You're right. It's not logical. It's a program that can be backed up at a whim, and let's not even get into the it's-not-human-bit – you're getting all emotional about losing it when you can _just make a backup_! It'll have the same personality and memories – I mean it wouldn't remember its own deletion, or, whatever – but it'll still act the same! So why don't you?"

He couldn't answer.

He had embraced Netto's optimism that they would be able to get Blues back, and hadn't even wanted to think of the alternative out of...a loyalty to Blues? Their friendship? List would have scoffed – did scoff – at both, and somehow at that moment Enzan couldn't find a proper counterargument.

_And he'd be able to talk to Blues again,_ his treacherous mind told him. Even if there were differences...were there differences? How did that work? He had backups, after all - every decent Net Battler did. But the good ones – the good ones that he'd known – didn't want to use them...why? And what about_ his_ Blues...no, Dark Blues? Was it even important?

It was to him, but he...

Enzan no longer knew.

List looked at him for a moment longer, then shook her head again. "...yeah. Sorry about that. But...I do honestly think you'd be happier if you did. Think about it, all right?"

She turned away to continue packing. Enzan looked down at the testing PET he was holding as if seeing it for the first time, then finally, numbly, left the room.


End file.
